The true cost of the tram

File Photo, Didier Debusschère

Andrea Valeria ,
Marie-Christine Trottier and
Émilie Bergeron

Saturday, 24 march, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 24 march, 2018 01:00

Look at this article

Flush out the false news, to verify the statements of politicians, find the real numbers : the research staff of our investigation agency, based in Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa, are experts in the art of re-establish the facts. Each Saturday, they will present their findings to allow you to see more clearly in the events of the week.

The statement

Considered to have “well detailed” its tramway project and trambus, the mayor of Québec, Régis Labeaume, argues that the costs estimated at $ 3 billion, only will increase hugely, not.

“We know the price, the rest of us. It’s been eight years that we know how much is the cost of a kilometre of rail. And then, we always put the prices up to date. There is no better than the City of Quebec, with the companies of engineering with which we are working to put a price on it “,-he said on Tuesday.

The facts

With 23 km of tram and 17 km from trambus, the project will cost approximately$ 75 Million per kilometre if it occurs within the envelope of$3 billion.

In comparing it to other recent constructions of tram, this amount seems to be in the average. For example, in Nice, in France, the tramway has cost the equivalent of 71.5 Million us$ per km in 2007 and in Minneapolis, the United States, approximately 104,3 M$ per mile in 2014.

However, stresses Bent Flyvbjerg, specialist in the subject at Oxford University, ” the cost per kilometer varies greatly from one project to another “.

In a 2008 study, he explains that several factors affect the price of a project, including the proportion of the line that is built under the ground, the field conditions, the number of stations per kilometre, the type of trains, environmental constraints, or the cost of the workforce.

The weather conditions of the Old city, the construction of underground tram to the city centre and 17 km from trambus are all elements that must be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the project.

One thing is certain, the mayor wants to avoid an escalation of costs similar to that of the Montreal metro extension to Laval, completed in 2007. This project, which had been announced at$ 179 Million eventually cost more than$800 Million.